The Health Junction’s 100th Post: A Year in Review

I can hardly believe it’s been a year since the inception of The Health Junction. I started out with one faithful reader, Sophia P, and now there are over 400 loyal followers – I cannot tell you how thankful I am to have your support. Not too sure how you ended up reading The Health Junction, but however you ended up here, THANK YOU! It makes it much more enjoyable to write knowing there are people actually reading the material!

Sophia P (on the left) – my first and most loyal reader!

This time, a year ago I was working as a Marketing Project Manager in the media industry and though the job was a promotion for me, I felt disconnected from the work and uneasy with what I was putting out into the world (see this prior post) through my job.

Marketing Project Manager

It was a very troubling feeling for me to be doing a job that didn’t align with my personal values and it seems like it was fate that one day, while at work, I visited the continuing education site of a local community college to find something that piqued my interest – I randomly came across a course in wellness and nutrition. I’ve never looked back! After completing a community college certificate, I’m now pursuing school full-time working towards a designation as a registered nutritionist and it’s been such an amazing experience so far. I quit my job and am now working as a part-time Nutritionist where I have the privilege of teaching nutrition and cooking to middle school kids – going to work everyday really does make me happy and when I leave…I still feel happy.

Watermelon Smoothie Demo @ The Coady Street Party (thanks Carly D!)

Health, wellness, and nutrition is something that I love because it’s something we have total control over and even a small change can significantly improve the way we feel. The benefits of working towards a balanced approach to living healthily are quickly compounded; doing something small and realising that we feel better motivates us to keep it up and maybe try for further improvements. So, in light of this huge milestone for The Health Junction, here are the top 10 things I learned about nutrition, health, and wellness over the past year.

1.) Drinking Water Is The Bomb. Drinking 10 glasses of water a day is probably the easiest and fastest thing you can do to immediately improve your health. It gets things moving, helps us to eliminate toxic waste, and on and on. Check out this post on water if you need a “refresher”.

2.) Moving Every Day Is Also The Bomb. If you want to be healthy, half the picture is moving your booty each and every day. Even if it’s for a walk up and down stairs or a brisk jaunt around the neighbourhood your body needs to move in order to maintain health.

4.) Your Mind & Body Are Connected. It’s not some new age mumbo jumbo and though I would have balked at this notion in the past, I truly believe that the way we think and feel impacts our physical health. Science has backed me up on this one time and time and time again. If you want to be physically fit, it’s imperative to find ways of managing and eliminating stress and emotional distress. Getting enough sleep will help you cope with stress better.

5.) Leafy Greens: Suck It Up Sally. Sorry to be a Drill Sergeant here, but you need to eat your leafy greens. They provide a host of important minerals, vitamins, and fiber. They help clean out our body and nourish us with the nutrients we need to thrive. How can you do this? Start by eating two cups with a side salad at lunch each day. Believe the hype on this one and if you don’t like the taste, give it some time. Your taste buds will adjust and before you know it, you’ll be craving kale.

6.) The Sunshine Vitamin. If you live in a colder climate you should be taking a Vitamin D supplement between the months of September and April – or all year if you want to simplify things. Check out this prior post on why Vitamin D if you want more info, but in short, you would be wise to take 1000 IU of Vitamin D every day.

7.) You The Single Most Important influence On Your Kids Dietary/Health Habits. Check out this study if this subject matter interests you, but here is a poem that best encapsulates why eating healthy helps your kids.

Roses Are Red

Violets Are Blue

Monkey See. Monkey Do.

8.) Say “So Long” To Energy Suckers. You can’t like or get along with everyone…well, the Dalai Lama might be able to, but for the rest of us, it’s not realistic. Life is too short to continually expend efforts and energy on one way relationships or people who leave you feeling upset. Clean house and concentrate on people who make you laugh, are fun, and are doing good things in the world.

9.) Choose unrefined whole foods. Whole grain breads over white. Brown rice over white. Vegetables and fruit. Nuts and seeds. Organic high quality proteins. Oatmeal instead of store-bought cereals. Nut butters. Beans. You will feel fuller, get more nutrients, and live longer if you choose smarter whole foods more often.

10.) Slow and Steady Wins The Race. This is a toughy…for me and probably many of you reading. When I started out as a nutrition student, I wanted to make every change possible to improve my eating habits. Trying to do too much too quickly resulted in doing none of it well. I’ve come to realise that making real changes comes from small steps that over time add up and those are the changes that are longterm and sustainable. If you’re not sure where to start, check out #5 🙂

THE DAILY DL (Dalai Lama):

“Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can.”

– Dalai Lama XIV

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